Magnetic gasket for cabinets



G. S. HILL MAGNETIC GASKET FOR CABINETS July 22, 1952 Filed Dec. 28, 1950 my. A

Inventor. George S. Hill,

Hns Attorney.

Patented July 22, 1952 George S Hill, North East, 'Pa., assignoi' to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application December 28, 1950, Serial minim 4 Claims. (01. "lacee) Myinvention relates to gaskets for sealing c'abinets and more particularly to gaskets including magnetic elements.

In cabinets such as refrigerators wherein a temperature is maintained differing substantially from ambient temperature, it is customary to provide a gasket adapted to encircle the access opening of the cabinet for sealing the area around the access opening against leakage. In the copending application ofAlfred G. Janos, Serial No. 122,961, filed October 22, 1949, and assigned to the same assignee as. the present invention, a sealingarrangement is set forth in which magnets are provided within the gasket and these magnets are attracted to the portion of the outer wall which frames the access .openings of the cabinet, thereby pressing the gasketinto sealing engagement with this outer wall. Because, of the presence of magnets within the'gasket there is a possibility that magnetic particles, such as iron filings, may collect on the exterior surface of the gasket, being picked up thereon, for example, under conditions of manufacture in a' factory. Since the gasket is arranged to be pressed into sealing engagement with the painted steel-surface of the outer wall which frames the access opening of the refrigerator, even a small amountof magnetic particles of an abrasive nature'may, over a' period of time, through repeated opening and closing of the door, cause a scratching and ultimate rusting of this surface of the cabinet. By my arrangement any such magnetic' particles are attracted to a portion of the gasket surface where they will inherently be spaced from the outer wall of the cabinet and hence the presence 'ofthe small amount of the magnetic particles likely to be encountered causes no m'arring of the gasket-engaged surface of the cabinet. 7

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to minimize wear and marring of a cabinet bym'agnetic particles clinging to the exterior of a ma netic asket.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterize my invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and'forming part of this specification.

In carrying out the objects of my invention elongated magnets are provided within a. tubular portion of a gasket and the gasket is formed to include a. continuous bead on the cabinet-engaging faceof the gasket. This bead is specifically plane extending; through the longitudinal axis of I the magnets perpendicular to the face of the the longitudinal'axls of the magnets and in a door and the engaged "face of the cabinet.

For a better understanding or my invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. -1 illustrates a refrigerator embodying my invention; Fig. 2 i a sectional view illustrating details of they gasket construction; and Fig. 3 is a greatly enlarged View of a portion of Fig. 2. I

Referring now to the drawing there is shown a refrigerator l including a cabinet 2. The cabinet 2 include a metal outer wall 3 which is shaped to provide a portion or face 4 framing the access opening of the storage compartment 5 of the refrigerator.

A door 6 is provided for closing the access opening of the cabinet, the door being hinged to the cabinet by hinges 1. In order to seal the refrigerator in the region of the access opening a gasket 8 of flexible material is provided. 7

Details of the construction of the gasket and the arrangement for holding the gasket in sealing engagement with the framingportion or face A of the outer wall are illustrated in Fig, 2. The door 6 includes an outer wall having an inner face or'flange 9 which is generally parallel to the framing portion or face 4 of the cabinet in the closed position of the door. The gasket 8 is mounted on this inner face 9 of the door by a retainer [6 whichis'secured to the door by screws or other suitable fastening devices, one of which is shown at H, and which engages one section of the gasket. One end I2 of the retainer engages an upwardly'extending ear [3 of the gasket to hold the gasket againstithe face 9 of the door.

In order to provide for holding the gasket in sealing engagement with'the portion a of the out er Wall of the cabinet-a plurality of elongated cylindrical magnets 14 are assembled within a tubular portion 15 which is included in a second section of the gasket. Since the outer wall. of the cabinet, including the portion 4 thereof, is made of a, magnetic material, steel being normal- 1y employed, the magnets 14 are attracted toward the portion 4 and press the gasket into sealing engagement therewith. The broad idea of magnets disposed within a gasket and arranged to be attracted to the front face of alre'frigerator cabinet for sealing theaccess opening of the food storage compartment is not my invention but is described and claimed in an application of Alfred G. Janos, Serial No. 122,961, filed October22, 1949, and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. r 7

Because of thepresence of the magnets 14 22 in Fig- 3.

within the gasket any magnetic particles, such as iron filings, etc., coming within the vicinity of the gasket may be attracted toward the ma nets and held on the cabinet-engaging surface of the gasket. After repeated door openings and closings such abrasive particles may mar the surface of the face of the cabinet, cutting through the paint coating and ultimately resulting in the rusting and unsightly appearance of the face 4 of the cabinet. By my arrangement the possibility of such damage is minimized. This minimization of damage is obtained by forming the gasket 8 to provide a, sealing bead l1 parallel to the longitudinal axis [8 of the magnets l4 and in a plane extending through the longitudinal axis l8 and substantially perpendicular to the face 4 of the outer wall of the cabinet. Since the inner face 9 of the door 6 is generally parallel to the front face 4 of the cabinet when the door is in its closed position, as explained previously, the plane extending through the longitudinal axis I8 of the magnets and the tip [9 of the bead I1 is also substantially perpendicular to the inner face 9 of the door;

Referring particularly to Fig. 3, it can be seen that as the door is moved to, its closed position the tip IQ of the gasket first engages the face 4 of the cabinet, and substantially the total contact between the gasket and theface 4 occurs along the bead H at the tip portion thereof. Since the bead I'I projects a substantial distance abovethe major portion 20 of the exterior surface of the gasket the tip 19 of the head is disposed a substantially greater distance away from the magnets 14 than the surface 2| of the gasket at the base of this bead l1. Since the force exerted by a magnet varies inversely with the square of the distance therefrom the attractive force at the-surface 2| substantially exceeds that atth'e tip l9. Also, because of the shorter distance from the magnets, the attractive force at the surface 2i exceeds that exerted at any other area of the; surface 20. Accordingly any magnetic particles in the vicinity will be attracted toward the surface 2| in preference to the tip 19 of the -bead"or the surface 20 and will collect on the surface 2|, as indicatedat Accordingly, when the door is moved to its closed position the gasket engages the face 4 of the cabinet along the tip 19 of the bead and the magnetic particles 22, which collect on the surfacell at the base of the bead, are spaced from the face 4 and are ineffective insofar as any marring or scratching of the surface of the portion 4 is concerned. Thus by the expedient of properly disposing the sealing bead ll relative to the magnets 14 the danger of scratching or marring the portion 4 of the outer wall of the cabinet because of magnetic particles collecting on thebead is minimized.

While I have shown and described a specific embodiment of my invention as applied to a refrigerator cabinet other applications will readily occur to those skilled in the art and I intend, by the appended claims, to cover all modifications within the spirit and scope of my invention. i 1 i What Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A gasket for refrigerators an dthe like which includes a cabinet-and a door hinged thereto, said gasket comprisinga member of flexible material having a section for mounting on the door and a second section for engaging a face of the cabinet in sealing engagement therewith,' and a plurality of elongated magnets arranged within said second section for attraction by the cabinet to hold said gasket in sealing engagement with the cabinet, said second section including a bead projecting from the body thereof for engaging said cabinet, said bead being arranged in a plane extending along the line of force of said magnets between ,said magnets and said cabinet, the distance from said magnets to the portion of said gasket at the base of said bead being substantially less than the distance from said magnets to the tip of said bead and to the remainder of said second section whereby magnetic particles are attracted to said gasket at said base of said bead and engagement of said particles with said cabinet ismi'riimized.

2. A gasket for refrigerators and the like which includes a cabinet and a door hinged thereto, said gasket comprising a member offlexible material having a section for mounting on the door and a second section for engaging a faceof the cabinet in sealing engagement therewith, and a plurality of elongated magnets arranged within said second section for attraction by the cabinet to hold said gasket in seal- 7 ing engagement With the "cabinet, said second section including a bead projecting from the body thereof for engaging said cabinet, said bead being arranged in a plane extending through the longitudinal axis of said magnets perpendicular to said face of the cabinet.

3. A gasket for refrigerators and the'like which includes a cabinet and'a door hinged thereto, said gasket comprising a member of flexible material having a section for mounting on the inner face of the door and a second section for engaging the cabinet in sealing engagement therewith, and a plurality of elongated magnets arranged within said second section for attraction by the cabinet to hold said gasket in sealing engagement with the cabinet, said second section including a bead projecting from the body thereof for engaging said cabinet, said bead being arranged in a plane extending through the longitudinal axis of said magnets and perpendicular to the inner face of the door. 7 e

4. A refrigerator or the like comprising a cabinet having an access opening'therein, said cabinet including an outer wall framing said opening, a door for closing said opening, a gasket arranged on said door for engaging said outer wall adjacent said access opening to seal said opening, said gasket comprising a member of flexible material having a section for mounting on said door and a second section for engaging said outer wall in sealing engagement therewith, and a plurality of. elongated magnets arranged in said second section for attraction by said outer wall of said cabinet to hold said gasket in sealing engagement with said outer wall, said second section including a longitudinal bead projecting from thebody thereof for engaging said cabinet, said bead being arranged in a plane extending through the longitudinal axis of said magnets perpendicular to said outer wall.

GEORGE S. 'HILL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: I

UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 Number 

